A few weeks ago, I did something I’ve wanted to do for years– a bike camping trip to Point Reyes, self-supported (carrying everything, no car support).
I wanted to camp in Point Reyes National Seashore itself rather than nearby in Samuel P Taylor, to be somewhere more remote that wasn’t drive-in. I picked Sky Camp (based partly on this SFgate article), managed to get two nights reserved, and we ended up with a hardy group of 11 (friends, friends of friends, riders from last year’s SF RAGBRAI contingent).
After looking at maps, blogs, books, and talking to people who’ve biked to Point Reyes before, we decided to take a particular scenic loop route rather than just the flattest, straightest inland route via Fairfax. And I’m glad we did. The map image below links to a more detailed map, and I also wrote out a turn by turn cue sheet that I’ll post some day, or just ask me if you want a copy. It was about 130 miles of riding (and maybe 10,000 feet of elevation?!) over the 3 days, including our side trip to Tomales Bay.
The ride up was great– from the hilly pain of Mill Valley -> Four Corners, to the swooping long descent to Stinson Beach (breakfast burrito and bloody mary stop at The Sand Dollar), to the twisty, view-filled, less-hilly-than-expected stretch of Route 1 from there along the Bolinas Lagoon and up to Olema (oyster and beer stop – the BBQ oysters w/ chipotle at the Olema Farm House are recommended), the weather cooperated the entire time.
After stopping in Point Reyes to load up on food and charcoal (note to self: next time get two bags of charcoal), we slogged the painful 4 miles and 1000’ uphill to the Sky Trail trailhead, and then another mile in on a dirt path to Sky Camp.
We didn’t let the fog, cold, and light rain stop us (especially talented grillmaster and aluminum foil sculptor DY), and huddled in a covered glen (camp site #12 – unusually spacious and highly recommended) to cook, eat, and relax. Some people even produced beer they’d secretly lugged up all those hills.
The next morning, after brunch in Point Reyes, some people who didn’t have Monday off headed home, while the rest of us took a short (30 miles round trip) jaunt up to Marshall and Tomales Bay for BBQ-your-own-oysters.
That evening, back at the camp site, we were rewarded with a fog-free evening, a glowing sunset and view of the Farallones (from camp site #11 – smaller than #12 but overlooking the ocean), and only a little rain at night.
The next morning, after a few scones for energy (shout-out to KG for bringing extra panniers loaded with all sorts of homemade goodies!), we packed up, zoomed downhill between fields of flowers and through the mud, and headed East along Nicasio Reservoir – another remarkable stretch of road I’d never been on:
(the photo above is probably my most memorable moment of the trip)
Then through Fairfax (lunch and ice cream stop), along are-we-there-yet hills in Corte Madera, down the Mill Valley bike path, and home, to sleep well.
Thanks for being laid-back and fun to travel with, everyone. We didn’t let minor adversities (getting separated twice, a rack breaking in a way that could have been bad, rain in camp the first night) stress us out, and I still remember this weekend…
And for anyone who found this writeup through a web search or so on and is wondering whether you could do it– yes, you could. We had a mix of frequent cyclists and people who don’t ride as often, people in full jerseys + padded shorts and people in shorts and T shirts, skinny-tire carbon road bikes, steel touring bikes, and aluminum mountain bikes with suspensions. And everyone made it.